This clay sculpture features the Monkey King in traditional Beijing opera costume and makeup. The sculpture is hand cast and hand painted, nicely framed.

Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, is the main character in Journey to the West. In the shape of a monkey, he is the mischievous protagonist of this classic literature, based on popular tales dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618~907).

Legends tell that Wukong was born out of a stone and through his many adventures he was able to master an array of amazing abilities and powers. The stories of Journey to the west and the monkey king have been adapted to Beijing opera, TV shows, movies, and Cartoons.

Beijing opera of China dates back to the year 1790. With a history of over 200 years, Beijing Opera, which originated in Beijing, is the operatic form commanding the biggest following. Beijing Opera combines music, acrobatic dance, and spectacular costumes to tell stories from Chinese history and folklore.

The costumes in Beijing opera are graceful, magnificent, elegant and brilliant, most of which are made in handicraft embroidery. Besides the costumes, the actors also painted their faces with colorful paints. The facial makeup has various designs of lines and colored patches painted on the faces of certain operatic characters.